MOORHEAD, Minn. -- With an experienced nucleus leading the way, the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's swimming and diving team opens the 2013-14 season with a dual at Northern State on Friday at 6 p.m. in Aberdeen, S.D.

?MSUM, which finished a perfect 5-0 in duals in 2012-13, is in its 17th year under the direction of Head Coach Todd Peters. The Dragons have six seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores and 16 freshmen on the roster entering the 2013-14 campaign.

?"It is really difficult to single out anyone on our team because the entire group of returning team members worked so hard this summer," Peters said. "The team set very lofty goals for this year and they vowed to work hard to achieve them.  We had seven team members stay in Moorhead all summer and lift weights four mornings each week at 6 a.m.  The rest went home and trained hard with their club teams.  All of the returning swimmers and divers are so far ahead of last year that we can let the freshmen progress slowly throughout the season."

?Here is a glimpse at each event for the Dragons as they enter the regular season:

?Diving: Seniors Shayna Dugger and Kelsey Jandro return to anchor the diving corps for the Dragons and new diving coach John Schmidt. Sophomore Emily Pascavis is also back after emerging late in the season.
?"They are already in midseason form, and they, along with our three new freshmen, are doing 90-100 dives per day," Peters said.
?
Sprints: Senior Megan Rieland, junior Susie Kitzman and sophomore Rachel Erickson lead the way, with freshmen Amber Helgoe and Claire Sauerman looking to contribute. Sophomores Jackie Woods, Annika Bordak and Viviane Nagasaki also will compete in some sprint events, including on relays. Junior Taylor Miller also will look to be a factor in the sprints after moving from the distance events.

"I'm really proud of Taylor Miller because she changed her style of swimming in the off-season to help fill our team's needs and is now one of our strongest sprinters," Peters said. "That kind of dedication and personal sacrifice is what our team is about this year."

?Distance: MSUM's depth is strong in the distance, as six swimmers have recorded times under 5:20 in the 500. Seniors Angelee Hale and Laura Goll, junior Megan Sanford and freshmen Kelly Engbring, Megan Palazzolo, Lexie Hendricks and Danae Scheef give the Dragons a deep distance contingent.

 "All of our distance team records will be broken by multiple swimmers this year," Peters said. "This group pushes each other to higher levels every single day.  They really give us outstanding strength and flexibility in all the distance events."
?
Backstroke: Another strong event for the Dragons. Bordak, Erickson, junior Brooke Johnson and sophomore Kaitlyn McKinney provide the Dragons with a seasoned core of returnees, with freshman Madison Kuznia expected to make an immediate contribution, particularly in the 200 back.
?"Annika Bordak finished last season by breaking pool records in the 50 and 100 backstrokes and she is starting off right where she left off last year," Peters said.
?
Breaststroke: Woods leads the Dragons in the breaststroke events. She led the team in points scored and narrowly missed qualifying for the Division II national meet. Senior Kelli Nadeau, junior Rachel Yonkovich, sophomore Lydia Weiler and freshman Claire Sauerman all will be looked to for contributions in those events.
?
Butterfly:  Kitzman, Rieland, McKinney, Miller, and Bordak will all likely be under a minute in the 100 fly while McKinney and Palazzolo will lead the team in the 200 fly event.

"The best thing about having 30 swimmers on the roster is the depth and flexibility it gives us," Peters said. "We can move so many people around and cover every event four or five individuals deep.  That just makes for amazing competition within the team and makes us so much faster."